


Something New

by TelekineticIssue



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alcohol, F/F, Fluff, Not really a first date but sort of, they’re in love your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28465194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TelekineticIssue/pseuds/TelekineticIssue
Summary: “So this is a date?”“Yeah.” Lin clears her throat, goes to hide behind her wine again before realizing her glass is empty and sets it down with a clink. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d say yes if I asked you on a date.”
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 10
Kudos: 136





	Something New

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whattheflameo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whattheflameo/gifts).



> Happy birthday, Kit!!  
> This beamed its way into my head and wouldn’t let me go until it was written.

When Lin Beifong casually asks _dinner?_ as they pass each other in the courtyard on Air Temple Island, it’s hard to decline, and that’s how Kya finds herself almost pressed into her side as the evening deepens into night and _dinner_ into _drinks_. She doesn’t know what she’s done to deserve this (hasn’t yet decided if it’s a gift or a punishment) but as she listens to the quiet instrumental music playing under the sound of other patrons’ voices she finds that she’s more than comfortable with it. Of course it’s an out of the way sort of place, cozy even, full but not crowded with women like them, and Kya thinks it’s very Lin. The whole evening has been, truthfully; Lin Beifong doesn’t do things by halves, and a five-star restaurant followed by perhaps one of the most quaint queer spaces Kya had ever been in suits her date—at least, she thinks Lin’s her date—to a tee.

“Why haven’t I heard of this place before?” Kya muses into her drink, something she doesn’t know the name of but is sugary and sweet just like she likes it. Lin opted for wine, didn’t tell her what kind, but Kya has a sneaking suspicion that if she tries it, it’ll be sweet too.

“You never asked,” Lin replies, almost a touch embarrassed, “and I don’t share this place with just anyone.”

Kya can tell that most of the women here are regulars or have come with one, and if the varied looks shot her way mean anything, she’s in someone else’s regular space. “I see.”

“Do you not like it?” Now Lin’s brows are furrowed, and Kya has to resist the urge to kiss the concerned look off her face.

“It’s darling. Just like you,” she adds bravely, and Lin’s eyebrows bypass their usual resting place to raise in amusement. Kya laughs a bit and Lin’s cheeks color, but she covers it with a sip of her wine. It’s then that her arm drapes casually across the back of the seat around Kya’s shoulders, and Kya figures out the word that’s been just out of her mind to describe this scene: _intimate_.

She likes it.

“Why tonight?” she asks, taking another chance and leaning into Lin on purpose. She feels the younger woman shift to make them more comfortable, smiles to herself at that, and feels Lin breathe in, testing her response.

“Because I hate feeling like I’m losing chances to spend time with you,” Lin says, voice pitched low for only Kya to hear. _Intimate_ , Kya thinks again. “Because I know you’ve been busy and maybe needed a night to just enjoy yourself and have fun and maybe I could do that for you. Because I didn’t want to go home alone again and I thought you’d say yes. Because I thought you’d like it. I don’t know, Kya, I just wanted to.”

Lin tenses, worried she’d said too much. Kya’s not sure what she can say to stop the thoughts undoubtedly racing through Lin’s mind at that moment, so, instead, she turns her head and kisses Lin’s cheek. She does it again after she feels Lin relax.

“I’m glad you did,” Kya says now that her words have caught up with her feelings. She hadn’t been imagining it for so long then: Lin did care about her. It’s a warm, soft feeling, one she’s craved for years. “So this is a date?”

“Yeah.” Lin clears her throat, goes to hide behind her wine again before realizing her glass is empty and sets it down with a clink. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d say yes if I asked you on a date.” She looks at Kya then, finally, and Kya can see the mixture of adoration and apprehension in her eyes.

“Lin, I would have said yes if you’d asked me to kiss you right then and there. You know I love you, right?”

Lin stops breathing for a good ten seconds before the air once more rushes into her lungs and she laughs shakily. “Yeah?” There’s a ridiculous little smile on her face, something far more vulnerable than she’s ever seen on Lin in public, and Kya again wants so badly to just grab the front of her shirt and drag her close and kiss her silly. She refrains only because she thinks getting kicked out would probably ruin whatever they’re in the process of building.

“I do love you, and I want to be able to say it without you looking like you’re about to float off into the clouds,” Kya teases. Lin has to force herself to breathe again, remind herself she’s not a teenager anymore and the woman next to her genuinely means the words that she’s said twice in as many minutes. Spirits, Lin wants to kiss her.

So she does.

Kya’s lips are soft under hers and it takes a monumental effort to break away before they cross the line into something bordering inappropriate.

“Kya,” Lin starts, still reeling, “Out of all the people…me? And you? Us?”

“Of course, Lin,” Kya says, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Lin doesn’t say anything, merely gives her a peck on the cheek and a little embarrassed sound of agreement, and it’s Kya who finally suggests they head home for the night to save Lin the effort of speech. Lin holds her tight to her side in the streetcar, strong arm around her waist, and Kya’s nearly breathless at how much she loves this bold new Lin Beifong.

“C’mere,” Lin murmurs when Kya steps out of the bathroom, having changed into some of Lin’s own lounge pants and an oversized RCPD t-shirt. Kya fits into her arms like she’s made to be there, and Lin pulls her down for a gentle kiss, longer than the one they’d shared earlier.

“I’m not,” she says when they break apart, “I’m not going to be a perfect partner.”

“Lin,” Kya tries to break in, but Lin stops her with another kiss, this one somehow even softer.

“I’m not perfect, Kya, and I’m going to fuck some things up. But I love you, and I will do whatever it takes for you to believe that.”

“Oh, Lin.” And now it’s Kya kissing Lin, and she thinks they can’t possibly be any more perfect than they already are. “I already do.”


End file.
